1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the following description relate to a method and apparatus for selecting a beamformee station (STA) in a process of performing a sounding protocol in a multi-user multiple-input and multiple-output (MU-MIMO) communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, multi-user multiple-input and multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technology for simultaneously transmitting data to a plurality of stations (STAs) using a plurality of antennas has been realized. In a case of performing MU-MIMO transmission, interference between data transmitted to each of the plurality of STAs may cause degradation in a performance of receiving a transmitted signal. In order to prevent such degradation, beamforming technology based on channel information is being utilized. STAs configuring a beamforming operation may be referred to as a beamformer and a beamformee. For example, the beamformer may indicate an STA to perform transmission using the beamforming technology, and the beamformee may indicate an STA to perform reception using the beamforming technology.
Accordingly, research is being conducted in order to increase transmission efficiency based on channel information associated with a beamformee STA.